Personalized 1982 Grandmaster Flash Mixtape Surfaces Online

A little piece of hip-hop history.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Grandmaster Flash will be forever remembered as one of the pioneers of hip-hop as a genre, primarily from his work on songs like "The Message" and "Freedom." Now, it looks like a historic little piece of his work has surfaced online. UK music blog Grime and Lime ripped a copy of one of Flash's personalized mixtapes, and put it out on the internet for everyone to enjoy.

Flash apparently made the mixtape for someone named Money Mike back in 1982, and he even warns him at the beginning not to share copies with anyone. The tape launches right into Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's perennial classic "The Message," and goes on to hit several of their early classics. In true 80s fashion, the tape still is divided into two sides, a remnant of the original cassette format.

The group made history back in 2007 when they became the first rappers to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their work continues to be heavily referenced and sampled to this day. You can download the two-part mixtape via Grime and Lime here.

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